Reviews

Tomb Raider: Legend

Like the previous games in the franchise, there's plenty of gunplay to keep the proceedings intense (although dodging booby traps will be exciting enough for many people). The combat is fun for the most part, although it doesn't really offer much of a challenge. You'll be able to lock on to your nearest foe and fire away, switching whenever necessary with a quick flick of the right analog stick. It's pretty basic stuff, though we were happy to see the mechanic that allows Lara to shoot any highlighted objects to take down her enemies with an environmental kill. The developers also did a great job of pacing the game, with much of the exploration and puzzle-solving bookended by heavy combat sequences.

Legend also offers a number of gameplay mechanics that haven't been seen before in the series, including a number of entertaining survival mini-games. Like the classic Dragon's Lair, pressing the wrong button or moving the wrong way in the mini-game will send Lara to her death, and the developers made one for each segment (be sure to check out the "Unfortunate Mishaps Video" in the Special section). Lara's also got plenty of cool gadgets that you'll need to use if you want to progress, including a personal lighting device and binoculars that allow the player to find points of interest (such as movable objects) in the levels. We should mention the two long motorcycle chases that blend driving with gunplay, but the less said about those the better.

Tomb Raider: Legend is being released simultaneously for the Xbox, PS2, and Xbox 360, and it's essentially the same game for all three systems. Basically, the differences between them boil down to graphics and controls. Not surprisingly, the Xbox 360 version is the best looking of the bunch, but it suffers from some frame-rate slowdown when you're using the lighting device or panning the camera around. On the current-gen side, the PS2 game offers slightly easier-to-use (and tighter) controls than the Xbox, although it's the least visually appealing version of the three. Finally, the Xbox is the only one that runs at a buttery 60 frames per second, but the combat controls could use a little work.

Our biggest qualm with the game is actually one that can be easily remedied when it comes time for Crystal Dynamics to start crafting a sequel: It's too short. Sure, you can spend a few extra hours searching for the hidden artifacts spread about the levels (bronze are easy to find, gold are nearly impossible, and silver fall somewhere in the middle), but the game can be beaten in one extended sitting. It took me just under 8 hours to complete 90% of the game, and it's not a terrible stretch to imagine someone rushing through it in 5 or 6. It's a good sign for a game when players want more, and it's further proof that the Tomb Raider series is back in a big way.